Bitter Sweet Buns
by TohrutheGreat
Summary: Kagome finds out that with the help of a little laughing gas, talking about your deepest, most guarded secrets is as easy as making ramen...


Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha by ANY stretch of the imagination. Nope, not _that _one. Or _that_ one. Still...no. :)

Enjoy!

* * *

They were finally alone.

After months of chasing Naraku, the group was finally blessed with a few days' rest, and Kagome had decided to make the most of it by planning a picnic for Inuyasha and herself. She had slaved over sweet buns the night before, with a little help from her thoughtful mother, as a special surprise for her half-demon friend. Although his tastes were particular, in that his like for foods with even a little spice wouldn't stretch past the length of his patience, she was sure he'd enjoy these, because they were, after all, _sweet_ buns.

It hadn't taken as much convincing as Kagome had expected to get the gruff half-demon to accompany her on a picnic. His initial reaction, of course, was to insult her, and then to snap at her attempts to persuade him to come with her. That only lasted for a minute or two, because when she mentioned that she Miroku and Sango were gone, and that Shippo would be playing with the village children, and that she would be all alone and vulnerable, he subtly changed his tune. She suspected it also might have had to do with her flashing an empty cup of ramen that had been stored in her backpack right in his face.

Either way, he had agreed to go with her.

She left him alone with the food for a few minutes while she went to Kaede's, to persuade the elder priestess to keep the location of the picnic secret. Of course, the woman agreed, happy that the two friends would get to spend alone time together. She suspected it would help to calm Inuyasha's anxieties about the fate of the final battle which must surely be close at hand.

And now, here they were, spread out on a blanket…Inuyasha devouring the sweet buns, and Kagome, about to try her first…

The bun _smelled_ good, but, as she knew from experience, taste was the key component of well prepared food.

She put the bun into her mouth; so far so good.

Now to take a bite…

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Inuyasha's initial reaction was to draw Tessaiga, and he got his hand as far as the sword's hilt before he realized Kagome was not being attacked by anything he could see.

"Kagome, what the-?"

The girl's mouth was wide open, the mostly chewed sweet bun lying mounded over her tongue. Her eyes twitched; tears had already begun to gather at the edge of her vision.

"Are you alright?" Inuyasha could not refrain from demanding, worried at what might have caused her such pain.

She did not answer right away, pulling a handkerchief hastily out of her pocket. Shutting her eyes tightly, she spit the remains of the sweet bun into the cloth.

The half-demon watched curiously as she stared into the contents, one hand pressed close to her cheek.

"Kagome...what are you-?"

"There- that's what did- aha!" she added as another wave of pain vibrated through her gum.

She placed the dirty cloth down and gingerly pulled out what had at one time been a large stone.

"I think I bit down on it…and really hard too," Kagome pointed to the splinters of rock which lay in mushy food.

Inuyasha looked down into the mess, puzzled.

"But how the hell did that get in there?"

"I'll be…ugh," she moaned in pain, "…darned if I know."

He winced at the sound of her sharp intake of breath, reminding himself that a human's mouth was far more sensitive than a demon's.

"We'd better get you to Kaede's…she'll know what to do."

Without hesitation he stood, and offered his hand, which she promptly accepted.

"I'll carry you," he spoke as he crouched down low enough for her to climb on.

"Sorry…Inuyasha. I wanted this to be fun…since these past few days have been difficult for-ugh," Kagome whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Shut up!" he barked, heaving her up a little. "Don't apologize when it's not your fault, cause it's annoying!"

She nodded against his back, shutting her eyes as another wave of pain coursed through her.

'_I'll get you back to the village fast…I promise!'_ Inuyasha thought before taking off at a pace that no human could match.

* * *

"Child, I'm afraid that there's not much I can do for you…" Kaede admitted as she began to mash a few pungent leaves together. "This may help to dull the pain a little, but I can do nothing for the shattered tooth."

Kagome nodded, grateful that dentistry existed in the modern era.

Inuyasha sat with his back to the two priestesses; he hadn't left her side since he had brought her into the village, and his frustration and impatience at not being to help ease the pain made the girl feel guilty. She knew he would be angry that they couldn't even go after Naraku again until she had gotten her tooth problem taken care of.

'_Maybe Kikyo can help…they don't really need me…after all, she can sense shards too…'_ Kagome thought bitterly.

She shook her head lightly. That sort of thinking was pointless. Kikyo had made it clear she intended to defeat Naraku, without the help of anyone…even Inuyasha.

Kaede placed the poultice at Kagome's side, instructing the girl to spread the warm mixture of herbs around the tooth. Applying the green pulp on her swollen gum was not pleasant, but Kagome had learned from her time in the feudal era that in some ways, medicine was more advanced than her textbooks had illustrated.

While it tasted disgusting, Kagome had to admit that the pain which had been killing her minutes before was slowly softening.

She mustered a smile. "Thank you, Kaede. This should tide me over until I can get to the dentist…"

"Dentist? Is that what they call medicine men in your era?"

"Well, those who specialize in teeth."

The bamboo curtain which served to guard the entrance to Kaede's hut swished aside as Miroku and Sango entered, both with worried expressions on their faces.

"We heard from some of the village children that you came back in a hurry. Are you alright?" Miroku asked, setting his golden staff against one of the walls of the hut.

"I accidentally broke one of my teeth while Inuyasha and I were eating lunch…but I'm feeling a little better for the moment," Kagome explained. "I'm afraid that I'll have to return to my time to see a dentist about it, though."

Sango knelt by the young priestess on the raised portion of the hut, reaching out a comforting hand to place on Kagome's shoulder.

"It's a good thing Inuyasha was with me," the girl said with a little smile.

The half-demon snorted, turning around to face the women. "That's what I'm always tellin' you! Just glad this time you actually see what I mean!"

Miroku gave Inuyasha a small tap on the head. "No need to rub it in, my friend."

Kagome and Sango laughed lightly as the half-demon began growling.

"The sun is getting lower in the sky…I'd better go home. I'm sorry that I'll be slowing down our progress…" the girl from the future whispered.

"Keh! You can make it up to us by getting your damn tooth fixed as soon as possible, so stop blabbering about 'progress!'"

Kagome nodded, wincing as she felt another sharp crack of pain in her gum.

* * *

"How did you say you broke your tooth in half, Ms. Higurashi?"

"I tripped…uh, going up the steps to my family shrine. It is a steep hill."

The dentist nodded, swiveling the light away from her head.

"I've almost fallen a few times myself going up those very steps. Honestly, though, I'm surprised your tooth broke and not your nose."

"I landed right on this cheek. Maybe that tooth has always been a little fragile?" she guessed, desperately reaching for an excuse.

"Perhaps…" the dentist said, looking at her records. "Regardless of how it happened, I'm going to have to pull the other half of your tooth out immediately. Then we'll need to put in a false tooth."

Her blood turned icy at the images she conjured up: of drills, needles, and giant pliers. Fighting demons in another era and nearly getting killed on a daily basis did not frighten her nearly as much as dental work. It was one thing to get shot with an arrow in the heat of the moment…it was another thing to get a shot in your _gum_.

"A-alright," she answered, her palms sweaty. "Will…will you knock me out for this procedure?"

"Not completely; we'll just give you a healthy amount of laughing gas. That will suffice."

The dentist, sensing her anxiety, added, "Don't worry, once we give you the gas, you won't even care what we're doing in your mouth. You'll be fine."

Kagome nodded. _'It'll be fine, Kagome. You can do this!'_

* * *

Inuyasha stared down into the well, his ears relaxed against his head.

She would be alright…wouldn't she? The medicine man wouldn't need to keep her for that long, right? His leg began to fidget impatiently.

'_Damn it…I hate waiting for her to come back! Why is she taking so long?'_

His golden eyes softened as he thought of how she had tried to make lunch for the two of them.

'_She's such an idiot…'_ he thought with a smile. _'I could live off of ramen, no problem!'_

If they had eaten _ramen_, she wouldn't have hurt her tooth in the first place!

The sound of sniffling brought the half-demon out of his reverie.

"What now?" he groaned, standing up. His ear tweaked as he tried to place the direction from which the sound came. He realized he didn't even need to waste time listening for the sound when he saw a bushy little tail peeking from behind a tree a few yards from the well.

"Shippo!" he called. "Come out, runt! I know you're the one crying like an idiot!

The soft sobs ceased.

"Don't make me bring you out! Three, Two, On-!"

But he didn't get to finish as the fox demon slammed against his leg.

"Get off, Shippo!" he growled, kicking frantically in an effort to dislodge the child.

"You're gonna' kill me, Inuyasha! It's all my fault!" he sobbed.

"Wha- what," he tried to soften his tone, "Is your fault?"

"You see…I put the rock in the sweet bun that Kagome ate…"

Inuyasha ripped the fox demon from his pant-leg by the tail, and stared him in the face.

"Why the hell would you do that? She's the only one who even likes you! Kagome's been nothin' but nice to you ever since you decided to tag along with us!" he shook Shippo roughly.

"B-but I didn't mean for her to eat it…I slipped it into one of the buns while you went to get her from Kaede's hut…and I thought _you_ were…going to eat…it…" the fox demon admitted, averting his eyes.

_BAM!_

"So that's what you were planning? You little idiot! And now Kagome's got a broken tooth and we can't go after Naraku!"

Shippo sniffled once again, shaking like a leaf. "I know…I know…and now…Kagome will hate me!"

"Keh! You're lucky she's so soft! If I had eaten it, I'd have turned your tail into a hat!"

"Y-you would?"

"…Definitely. And I won't, but when she drags herself back here, you'd better beg for forgiveness on your hands and knees, you ungrateful shrimp!"

The fox demon nodded. "Th-thanks…Inuyasha."

* * *

"How are you feeling, Ms. Higurashi?"

How did she feel? _'Funny…'_ she mused. The gas seemed to take away any sense of judgment she possessed, and even now she wasn't completely sure what was going on.

The dentist had started to rub some gel on her gum, around her broken tooth.

"What's that going to do?" she asked spiritedly.

"We're just numbing the area a little before we give you some Novocain. It'll help."

"Oh…" she trailed off, looking first to her left, then to her right, in a disoriented manner.

"So how are you feeling these days? Your grandfather told me all about how much school you've missed recently. I'm sorry to hear about all of the illnesses you've been contracting. That's a lot to deal with, especially at your age! Arthritis at fifteen…I'll be…" the dentist was preparing a tray in which to place the remainder of her tooth.

"Arthritis? At my age! No, no, no! Grandpa always comes up with the most ridiculous diseases to explain my absences!" she said out loud.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You see," she began, looking up at the ceiling, "I really go back and forth between this time and the feudal era through the well at my family's shrine. In my first visit to the past I broke this jewel into just about a million pieces that scattered across the land and now I have to find them all. It's pretty complicated," Kagome explained, moving her feet restlessly.

"The feudal era? Well, that's strange," the dentist chuckled, motioning to a dental technician. "Why's this jewel so important?"

"You see, it has extraordinary powers! If someone gets a hold of it, they can wish for whatever they want! But that means that lots of bad people try to get their hands on it, demons and humans alike!"

"I think she may have _too _much laughing gas, Suzuko…" the dentist mumbled.

The dental technician double-checked, and with a shake of her head, the dentist continued to prepare the equipment.

"I've made lots of friends in the feudal era: a little fox demon named Shippo, a lecherous monk with a wind tunnel in his hand named Miroku, a demon-slayer who lost her whole village named Sango, her cat demon companion, Kirara…and…aah!" the girl stopped as soon as she saw the dentist pick up the syringe of Novocain.

"It's alright, I'll count to three, and on three I'll go in. I recommend holding your breath; I've heard that that helps."

"I'm tough!" she declared, punching her chest. "I fight demons all the time!"

"Ha, ha, sure you do," the dentist played along, readying the needle. "One, two, three…all done."

"Vat waff nuffin'!" Kagome declared as the dentist pushed a wad of cotton to her gum.

"I know," he agreed, "Kagome, how are you and Hojo doing?"

"Hojo?"

"Your grandfather tells me he has quite a thing for you. Are you dating now?" he asked as he removed the cotton from her mouth.

"No way! Besides…" she paused, "There's already someone else I like."

"Oh, really?" he reached for the pliers.

"Yep! His name is Inuyasha! He has long silver hair, big golden eyes that I love staring into, and the cutest little doggy ears on top of his head. He's a half-demon, you know," she added when she saw the puzzled look on the dentist's face. "He acts all tough, and he's had such a difficult past, but he's still so kind, despite it all. Inuyasha has always protected me!" she smiled.

"Sounds like a good kid. Now open; this part may take a minute, but I promise it won't hurt."

* * *

"Where's Kagome?"

Sota watched in amazement as Inuyasha leapt to the ground clear from Kagome's window.

"She's still at the dentist, but you can come in and play video games with me until she comes home!" the little boy offered.

"Sorry, kid. I came to get Kagome…_now_. Where does this 'dentist' live?"

"Uh…his office is about a mile away. Go straight for a little while, then turn left, then, uh, right…I think…" Sota struggled to give accurate directions.

"Never mind, I'll just follow her scent!"

And before Kagome's brother could blink, the red-cloaked man was gone.

* * *

"There, all done!"

Kagome still felt drowsy, even after they had taken the mask off. She couldn't feel one whole side of her mouth, and so she couldn't tell that drool was running down her chin.

They had tied a white cloth around her whole head to keep an ice pack pressed against her cheek, and the girl felt she must have looked a mess.

"We'll be sending the bill to your mother in the mail, so tell her not to worry about having to come and pick it up. And don't worry: the numbness will wear off in a couple of hours…"

"…G-good…" she managed to get out from her cotton filled mouth. "Fank you vewy muff."

"It was my pleasure. You can sign out at the front desk. Have a nice day, Ms. Higurashi."

"You foo," she said, before leaving, doing her best to smile.

"What a strange girl," the dentist mused, beginning to pack up his tools. "Time travelling? She's got a sense of humor!"

He looked up to see his dental technician in the door way. She had an odd look of disbelief on her face.

"What is it, Suzuko?" he asked.

"A boy came to pick Ms. Higurashi up…and you'll never guess what he looked like…"

"Let me guess, he had long silver hair, golden eyes, and white ears on top of his head?" the dentist laughed heartily, continuing his work.

"How did you know?"

* * *

"What the hell did they do to you, Kagome? I thought they were fixing your tooth, not screwing around with your whole head!"

Kagome snuggled closer against the warmth of Inuyasha's back as he dashed through Tokyo; she was still slightly drowsy from the dental procedure.

"Ugh…"

His eyes narrowed with concern.

"Kagome…what's wrong with you?"

"Bey…bey gabe me gaff foo help wiff any pain…"

"Keh! I'll never understand your era! But…"

'…_I'm glad that you're with me again.'_

* * *

No sooner had Inuyasha pulled her up from the well then a fuzzy, flying something clung around her neck like a choker.

"Fippo?" she asked, the cotton still wedged uncomfortably in her mouth.

"Kagome!" the fox squealed happily. "Oh, Kagome, I'm so sorry! It was all my fault, I put the rock in the bun because I wanted to go with you but you were only paying attention to Inuyasha and I didn't know you would eat it, I swear, and I felt so bad, I wanted to see you, Kagome!" the little demon sobbed as his mood swung rapidly from overjoyed to repentant.

"Fippo," she smiled, "Fank you for faying vat. I'm forry if foo felt left out. Neft time, juft tell me and I'll voo what I fan foo make foo feel included."

"You're so kind, Kagome!" he nuzzled his head against her neck, and she gave him a small hug.

Inuyasha's irritation spiked.

"Okay runt, that's enough!" he growled, yanking the fox demon away by his fluffy tail.

"Kagome!" Shippo whined as the blood rushed to his head.

"INUYAFA. FIT!"

Nothing happened.

"Heh, heh, heh," Inuyasha laughed nervously, "It doesn't work cause you can't say it right! Ha, ha, ha, h-!"

_SLAM!_

"No," Shippo coughed as he dug himself out of the impression Inuyasha's body had made in the soft earth, "It was just delayed!"

"K….a….go….me…!"

* * *

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha, but I just did it because you were being mean to him."

Inuyasha glared straight ahead, his form rigid and his aura agitated as he sat high in his favorite tree. Kagome sat on the ground, just in front of the thick trunk, removing the now useless bandages from her head.

"Inuyasha…" she whispered.

There was nothing but the light breeze whistling through the branches above her head.

"…you know, Shippo told me that you were the one who asked him to apologize to me."

She beamed up at him.

"So, I just wanted to…thank you. For everything."

At first, there was no reply, and Kagome contemplated leaving. She had said what she came to, say, and maybe he really was mad at her.

However, the half-demon landed to the ground with a confident thud in front of her.

"Don't mention it," he smirked, reaching his hand towards her.

"So you'll forgive me for sitting you?" Kagome asked, voice hopeful as she allowed him to help her up.

"Hell no, but…I figure you can make it up to me!"

Inuyasha looked deep into her warm brown eyes. She felt a blush rise quickly on her cheeks, and before she knew it, he had pulled her into a deep embrace.

"Kagome…" he whispered into her ear.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly as she buried her face into his chest.

"…you'd better make another lunch like that again, and soon!"

Suddenly all romance ebbed away from the situation she had only dared to imagine in her dreams.

"Huh?"

"Well, since Shippo ruined the last one! Your food ain't _great_, but it beats starving."

Kagome pulled away from him quickly, furious that she had let herself be manipulated in such a way. He backed away, sure that he saw flames whip up in her now vicious gaze.

"INUYASHA…!"

"Woah, woah, woah! Don't say it…"

"Why SHOULDN'T I?"

"Because the buns were _okay_…"

There was a lengthy pause, and it was uncomfortable to say the least.

"Do you…really mean that, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah!" he blushed, "Just make sure there aren't any rocks in 'em next time, okay? You really worried me with this whole tooth thing…"

She wrapped her arms around him, and he slowly eased into the embrace.

"Thank you."

"Sure. Hey, Kagome…"

"Yes? What is it?"

"You're drooling on me."

* * *

Well, this story was a pain in the tooth! (ba-dump-chee) The reason I say that is because it's kind of a random concept and the story bounces all over the place (I had about a million section dividers, haha).

The inspiration for this story came about two years ago, when I had to have five teeth pulled to prepare for braces. I was told that they were going to give me laughing gas, and that I would probably talk about crazy, random things and not even care. Of course, I was scared to death that I would start blabbing about Inuyasha to the dentist (I'm a bit of a closet anime fan). Thank goodness I didn't, but I got a good story idea from it: what if Kagome was put under the influence of laughing gas and told her dentist all about her adventures in feudal Japan. In addition- after surgery, they really do stuff your mouth, and unfortunately, I did drool without even feeling it (gross, right- haha, hence my jab in the last line of the story- she probably still couldn't feel her chin completely, even if she could talk normally again). It was pretty cool though, because they strapped ice packs to my cheeks with an elastic-sort of band. I truly was a pathetic site to behold, and I'm sure that Inuyasha was a little bit disturbed when he saw Kagome. :)

Anyway, this was my first canon-filler story. I did "A Broken Promise" which is canon and pretty much just an elaboration on an event that actually happened in the manga/anime. And...since AU or Cross-over stories are what I usually do, this story brought me out of my comfort zone, which is a good thing!

I know the writing wasn't awesome (I got writer's block a lot while writing this), but thank you so much for reading it! :) As a reward, here: I bestow upon thee a virtual cupcake. And fifty thousand chocolate chip cookies...that can talk! Well, maybe not the _talking _part, but everything else...!

Please leave me a review (pretty please~) "if we be friends," and tell me what you thought (grammar, spelling, OoC-ness, confusion, etc.) so that I can improve in the future! You all are awesome! (cubed)

Have a great day, and thank you again for reading!

Byebee:3

TohrutheGreat


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